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Post by Max Griffiths on Apr 30, 2011 17:25:37 GMT -5
*The boy falls off my back and I shoot him before he can get up. The one with a broken arm isn't moving, and the last girl has vanished; probably escaped through the door rather than try to fight me. Not necessarily a bad thing. She can spread the word. I find my weapons and radio in a corner of the room and send a transmission to the patrol. They arrive soon afterwards and while they bag the bodies I pick up the tranquilized man over my shoulder and carry him outside. I have plans for him.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 1, 2011 18:26:57 GMT -5
*I put the man in the trunk of my car and drive to the disused safehouse that the last two killjoys lived in, directed by a Draculoid who'd been here before. It's one of a long row of buildings near the center of town. The windows are boarded up but the door's unlocked. I allow the Draculoid to stay outside as watch, and take the man in with me. The inside is bare, an open stripped room with a staircase against one wall. I tie the man upright to one of the support beams and stand back, waiting for the tranquilizer to wear off.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 1, 2011 20:25:35 GMT -5
*The man groans and opens his eyes. He pales when he sees me and realizes where he is, and struggles against the ropes* Why are we here? Where are the others?
*I pull out my knife and hold it at my side. I don't like being captured.* Dead.
*His eyes widen* What? No, no, they can't be!
*I step forward, raising the knife*
What are you doing?! Stop! Get away from me! *He pulls against the ropes, but I know my knots will hold.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 1, 2011 20:41:51 GMT -5
*I cut open his shirt. He's still trying to break the ropes. Stupid. I'm not one for art, but an example needs to be made and civilians need obvious messages. I gauge the amount of space I have, then carve a W on the left side of his chest. He's crying now.* Stop! Please, stop! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!
*I hate it when they do this. They're noisy and messy and ugly. I carve an A next to the W.* I'll do what you want! I'll take your pills, whatever! Just stop!
*N.*
You can't do this to me! I'm not a killjoy, you can't do this!
*I pause.* You are a killjoy.
No I'm not, no I'm not! I'm a civilian!
You threatened Better Living. You are a killjoy. *T*
We just wanted you to leave, and you killed them! You killed them and now you're going to kill me and we're not even killjoys! *He's crying even harder now.*
We don't need to agree. *E* You are a killjoy. *D - he screams in pain* And so were they.
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 1, 2011 21:41:52 GMT -5
*I stand back to check my work. Definitly legible. Good. Something's missing though... I step forward, drag my fingers through the blood on his chest, and use it to draw an X over his face. There. Much better.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 4, 2011 18:01:49 GMT -5
*I untie him from the post and drag him up the stairs to a room with a window facing the street. There are a few people down there already. Probably heard the noise. Good. I keep his hands cuffed behind his back, then toss the end of my rope over the beam overhead. His eyes widen when I tie the noose, but he doesn't say anything. I tighten it around his neck and he shuts his eyes, shaking.*
It won't hurt. *I say. Then I shoot him in the head, holster my gun, and pull down on the rope. I tie it off and go down to the street. The people scatter. I look back up, then walk to my car and drive off.*
*The window frame completes my homemade wanted poster.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 5, 2011 16:36:24 GMT -5
*My radio crackles* Max, respond. Are you there?
*rb* *static* Yes.
I saw what you did earlier, Max. I don't approve. Explain yourself.
*long pause* Making a point.
Making a point about what?
Killjoys will not be tolerated.
There are better ways to show that, Max! We help people here at Better Living Industries, we don't torture them and hang their bodies up in public!
*I pause, losing interest* Tried to kill me.
Max, focus! I don't care what he did - the situation was under control by the time the patrol got there. Why did you take the man instead of leaving him in the patrol's custody?
*long silence. It takes me a moment to remember who she's talking about.* Making a point.
You already said that, Max! *She stops* You already said that. But fine. You know the regulations. I expect you to follow them. If something like this happens again, there will be consequences. We need the public to trust us, not fear us. Do you understand?
Yes.
Good. And make sure you check in the next time you're in the city. I want to talk to you.
Yes. *static, as I cut the transmission. I keep driving, not watching the mile markers. I don't care where I'm going.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 8, 2011 21:21:28 GMT -5
*I pull off the road when I see a rundown hotel. It looks abandoned. Maybe being used by killjoys. I walk the perimeter, don't see anything. I break a window in back and sweep the building. No signs of recent use, but its still livable. I consider burning it down, but then remember a safehouse I'd heard of months ago, closer to the city. A theater, I think it was. Dozens of killjoys used it before Scarecrow found out. This place has potential.*
*I go back to my car and open the trunk. I have a set of standard issue surveillance cameras. I take them out and go to the other side of the parking lot to start setting them up.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 9, 2011 17:58:43 GMT -5
*I dig down to anchor the first camera and bury the battery pack, then aim it towards the parking lot and front entrance of the hotel and camoflague the top. I pick up the other three and head around to the back of the building to get another angle.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 10, 2011 18:33:00 GMT -5
*Twenty minutes later I've got the other three cameras set up, their battery packs in place, and all the angles of the hotel covered. I sync them to one another, and then send the signal to the city so they can be monitored. I get back in my car and head south.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 15, 2011 22:13:04 GMT -5
*I have the BLI personelle transmission station on in the background when I hear some alerts from Battery City. First that there was a break-in, but the persons involved evaded capture. Then a list of minor mishaps, including a missing ambulance, smoke bombs being set off in a delivery station, and a power outage in one of the tunnels. I tap my fingers on the gear shift, deliberating, then decide to head back to the city. Nothing better to do at the moment.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 17, 2011 18:01:43 GMT -5
*When I get back to the city I show my card to the guards in the south tunnel but don't go straight to the Tower. Instead, I drive around the city a bit. Might see something interesting. Conversations are tiring and I don't feel like having one any sooner than necessary.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 26, 2011 23:42:20 GMT -5
*The city is disgustingly quiet. Nothing going on. I reluctantly head to the Tower*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 30, 2011 17:34:11 GMT -5
*I check my car into the underground parking, show my ID to the guards, and go inside. I stop at the Employee Sector to log my activities.*
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Post by Max Griffiths on May 31, 2011 17:56:26 GMT -5
*I take the elevator up and go to the woman's office, but she's not there. I sit down in one of the chairs in front of her desk and wait.*
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Yes, I'm still running - sort of. But it is lonely out here. Haven't seen anyone else for a while.
//